Press Releases

Callahan Announces Spring 2024 Grant Recipients, Its Largest Funding Round to Date The Callahan Foundation is pleased to announce it has awarded more than $1.28 million to 36 Northeast Ohio nonprofits and initiatives in its Spring 2024 grant cycle, nearly tripling last season’s total. Highlights include awarding: $500,000 to support the endowed chair at the Cleveland Orchestra $250,000 to the Cleveland Institute of Music for the renovation of Kulas Hall $150,000 to the United States Naval Academy to sponsor senior capstone projects. This cycle marks the largest funding round in the foundation’s history. All the organizations exemplify the Callahan Foundation’s mission, demonstrating superior leadership and creating value for those in need through programs in higher education, the arts, and social services. Spring 2024 grant recipients include: The Cleveland Orchestra: The Cleveland Orchestra’s mission is to inspire and enrich lives by creating extraordinary musical experiences at the highest level of artistic excellence. The Orchestra reaches over 560,000 people annually with concerts at the Severance and Blossom Music Centers, a residency in South Florida and international touring, PreK-12 education programs, holiday and family concerts, free community concerts, its digital streaming platform, Adella, recordings, and radio broadcasts. Funding will support the Orchestra’s operations and programming during its 107th season as it advances its legacy of superb artistry, outstanding education and community engagement programs, while successfully rebuilding audiences to pre-pandemic levels. The nonprofit was awarded $500,000. The Cleveland Institute of Music: The Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM) is a prestigious music conservatory dedicated to providing exceptional education and training to the next generation of musicians. Founded in 1920, CIM offers a comprehensive curriculum that emphasizes both performance and academic excellence. The institute nurtures talent through personalized instruction, masterclasses with renowned artists, and numerous performance opportunities. CIM also engages with the community through concerts, outreach […]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Callahan Foundation Pledges $2.5 Million to Case Western Reserve University for New Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Building Cleveland, OH – January 31, 2024 – The Callahan Foundation, dedicated to helping nonprofits in the arts, higher education and social services, is excited to announce its pledge of $2.5 million to Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) to support the construction of its new Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Building (ISEB). Expected to open in fall 2026, the ISEB represents a historic investment in the university’s research enterprise and is a significant step forward in advancing CWRU President Eric W. Kaler’s priorities: to elevate academic excellence, expand its research enterprise, and enhance community engagement. The 189,000-square-foot building, located on the Case Quad, will address the university’s need for additional research space and foster interdisciplinary collaborations focused on solving the world’s most pressing challenges. This gift from the Callahan Foundation for the construction of the ISEB also will support the university’s efforts to expand its research enterprise by: Enhancing administrative leadership, infrastructure and support; Improving the quality and amount of research space; and Fostering a talent pipeline for increasing enrollment of innovative students and faculty seeking research opportunities.   The Callahan family’s enduring partnership with Case Western Reserve University spans generations, from alumni to trustees, contributing to the University’s legacy. “The Callahan Foundation is honored to champion the University in this transformative project,” said Tim Callahan, President and Executive Director of the Callahan Foundation. “It’s more than a building – it’s a catalyst for advancing education, research, and innovation in Cleveland and beyond. If we can contribute in even a small way to shaping the future, we consider it a meaningful commitment to our community’s growth and success.” The grant comes at a pivotal time for CWRU, coinciding with the university’s bicentennial celebrations.  […]

The Callahan Foundation is pleased to announce it has awarded $330,701 to 32 Northeast Ohio nonprofits and initiatives in its Fall 2023 grant cycle. These organizations embody the Callahan Foundation’s mission, demonstrating superior leadership and creating value for those in need through programs in higher education, the arts, and social services. Boys and Girls Club of Northeast Ohio: The Boys and Girls Clubs of Northeast Ohio (BGCNEO) has a mission to inspire and enable young people who are most in need to reach their full potential as productive, responsible, caring citizens. While access to the arts for youth has been shown to improve education, health, and security outcomes, it is far less accessible to youth from low-income homes. BGCNEO bridges this opportunity gap by providing consistent after-school and summer experiences for thousands of low-income youths. Through the organization’s Opening Track program, BGCNEO youth can experience the performance and education offerings of local arts organizations, giving them the inspiration, knowledge, skills, healing, opportunities, and motivation that come through music. BGCNEO’s Opening Track program was awarded $7,500.  Child and Family Advocates of Cuyahoga County (CFACC): A 501-c-3 registered nonprofit organization with the mission to make a difference for every child served through advocacy, education, and collaborative alliances. CFACC was founded in 2016 to serve local children and youth in the local foster care system who are ages birth to 19 and provide support to up to 150 Cleveland-area children living in some kind of supervised County custody or foster care, because it is not safe for them to live at home. The funds will be used to recruit, train and support up to 40 new and 80 existing CASA volunteers who dedicated their time to this important child advocacy work. The nonprofit was awarded $7,500. CHN Housing Partners (CHN): A Cleveland-based nonprofit with 40+ years of […]

The Callahan Foundation is pleased to announce it has awarded $390,000 to 24 Northeast Ohio nonprofits and initiatives in its Spring 2022 grant cycle. These organizations embody the Callahan Foundation’s mission, demonstrating superior leadership and creating value for those in need through programs in higher education, the arts, and social services. Boys and Girls Club of Northeast Ohio: The Boys and Girls Clubs of Northeast Ohio (BGCNEO) has a mission to inspire and enable young people who are most in need to reach their full potential as productive, responsible, caring citizens. While access to the arts for youth has been shown to improve education, health, and security outcomes, it is far less accessible to youth from low-income homes. BGCNEO bridges this opportunity gap by providing consistent after-school and summer experiences for thousands of low-income youths. Through the organization’s Opening Track program, BGCNEO youth are able to experience the performance and education offerings of local arts organizations, giving them the inspiration, knowledge, skills, healing, opportunities, and motivation that comes through music. BGCNEO’s Opening Track program was awarded $7,500.  Communities Assisting Residential Elders (CARE): Communities Assisting Residential Elders’ (CARE) mission is to help older adults age in place with dignity. The organization primarily serves low-income senior homeowners who are at 200% of poverty across Greater Cleveland cities. As senior homeowners are increasingly entering poverty—and the cost of living increases as their income remains the same—seniors are also increasingly becoming more vulnerable and disadvantaged. A first-time grant recipient, CARE was awarded $2,500 for its Project Completion Fund for Low Income Seniors, in which volunteers help senior homeowners with completing projects around their homes and properties. CWRU Inamori Ethics Prize Events: The Callahan Foundation supports the Inamori Ethics Prize events through an annual award honoring the year’s recipient. The Inamori Ethics Prize honors those […]

Each year, the Inamori Ethics Prize recognizes an exemplary international ethical leader whose actions and influence have improved the human condition. The award, presented by Case Western Reserve University’s Inamori International Center for Ethics and Excellence, supports the Center’s mission to foster ethical leadership around the world. This year, the Inamori International Center for Ethics and Excellence has selected Dr. Paul Farmer, a physician and medical anthropologist who has dedicated his life to improving healthcare for the world’s most in need, with the 2022 Inamori Ethics Prize. Farmer, the Kolokotrones University Professor and chair of the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School, is chief strategist and co-founder of Partners In Health (PIH), which has developed into a worldwide health organization with a model for providing healthcare. Farmer, also a professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Global Health Equity at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, has written extensively on health, human rights, and social inequality affecting health and healthcare globally. In 2020, he received the $1 million Berggruen Prize in recognition of his life’s work and, more specifically, contributions during the pandemic. He also received a MacArthur Fellowship in the early 1990s. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, which awarded him the 2018 Public Welfare Medal. Farmer has received many additional honors, including the Bronislaw Malinowski Award and the Margaret Mead Award from the Society for Applied Anthropology, the Outstanding International Physician (Nathan Davis) Award from the American Medical Association, and, with his PIH colleagues, the Hilton Humanitarian Prize. The Inamori Ethics Prize has been awarded annually since 2008 to honor an individual for significant and lasting contributions to ethical leadership on the global stage. The […]

The Callahan Foundation is pleased to announce it has awarded $449,500 to 26 Northeast Ohio nonprofits and initiatives in its Spring 2021 grant cycle. These organizations embody the Callahan Foundation’s mission, demonstrating superior leadership and creating value for those in need through programs in higher education, the arts and social services.  Boys and Girls Club of Northeast Ohio: The Boys and Girls Clubs of Northeast Ohio’s (BGCNEO) mission is to help improve the lives of the youth who are most in need, targeting low-income youth in the most underserved areas throughout Northeast Ohio. Year-round youth development programming targets academic success, healthy lifestyles, and positive character & citizenship, as well as the arts. During the global pandemic, access to the arts to ease stress is especially important as many of the youth served have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19. In 2021, BGCNEO was awarded $5,000 to provide greater access to Arts programming for the most underserved populations in Northeast Ohio, helping to improve the lives of youth through access and exposure to the Arts. CWRU Inamori Ethics Prize Events: The Callahan Foundation supports the Inamori Ethics Prize events by awarding $20,000 and honoring the year’s recipient. The Inamori Ethics Prize honors those who embody ethical leadership, and exemplify founder Dr. Kazuo Inamori’s philosophy: “people have no higher calling than to serve the greater good of humankind and society.” Due to COVID-19, funding in 2020 shifted from the delivery of an Inamori Ethics Prize to a virtual “Conversation on Justice” series held throughout the academic year. Prize events have returned in 2021, with the 2020/2021 Inamori Ethics Prize going to Judge Silvia Alejandra Fernández de Gurmendi, a leading figure in international justice, humanitarian law, and human rights, and the first woman to serve as president of the International Criminal Court (ICC). Learn […]

Each year, the Inamori Ethics Prize recognizes an exemplary international ethical leader whose actions and influence have improved the human condition. The award, presented by Case Western Reserve University’s Inamori International Center for Ethics and Excellence, supports the Center’s mission to foster ethical leadership around the world. This year, the Inamori International Center for Ethics and Excellence has selected Silvia Alejandra Fernández de Gurmendi, a leading figure in international justice, humanitarian law and human rights, and the first woman to serve as president of the International Criminal Court (ICC). Judge Fernández is the first Latinx Inamori Ethics Prize recipient and the first from South America. She played a central role in the creation of the ICC and has worked tirelessly to see that those who commit war crimes and crimes against humanity are held accountable for their actions. Before joining the ICC, Judge Fernández was director-general for human rights at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Argentina. She also represented Argentina before other human-rights bodies and advised on transitional-justice issues related to the prevention of genocide and other international crimes. The 2020/2021 Inamori Ethics Prize ceremony and symposium for Judge Silvia Fernández de Gurmendi will be held on the campus of Case Western Reserve University on September 23 and 24, 2021. The prize carries with it a monetary award, which is intended to support the recipient’s ongoing work. The Inamori Ethics Prize has been awarded annually since 2008 to honor an individual for significant and lasting contributions to ethical leadership on the global stage. The Callahan Foundation is proud to be the title sponsor for the Inamori Ethics Prize ceremony, lecture and symposium. Learn more about the Inamori Ethics Prize and the 2020/2021 honoree, Silvia Alejandra Fernandez De Gurmendi.

2021 F. Joseph Callahan Distinguished Lecture to feature Dacher Keltner, renowned compassion researcher, author, and psychology professor. Over 10 years since its inception, the Case Western Reserve University Distinguished Lecture presents author, compassion researcher, and psychology professor Dacher Keltner on Thursday, April 29, 2021 at 5:00 PM. Dacher Keltner is a Professor of Psychology at the University of California at Berkeley, renowned for his research on the science of compassion and awe. He is Director of the Berkeley Social Interaction Lab, and serves as the Faculty Director of the Berkeley Greater Good Science Center. His research focuses on the biological and evolutionary origins of compassion, awe, love, and beauty, as well as power, social class, and inequality. Keltner is also the author of The Power Paradox, as well as the bestseller Born to Be Good: The Science of a Meaningful Life and The Compassionate Instinct. He has published over 190 scientific articles, including seminal works on the psychology of awe. He has written for the New York Times Magazine, and his research has been covered in TIME, Newsweek, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, CNN, NPR, and the BBC as well as many other outlets. Keltner was the scientific consultant for the Pixar film Inside Out, for which he helped revise the story emphasizing the neuropsychological findings that human emotions are mirrored in interpersonal relationships and can be significantly moderated by them. Keltner’s lecture will address the abuses of power from empathy deficits to impulsivity, and what can be done to promote positive social change in the face of these pitfalls. Keltner’s lecture will address the abuses of power from empathy deficits to impulsivity, and what can be done to promote positive social change in the face of these pitfalls. This year, the Distinguished Lecture will be viewable online only. The virtual lecture will be Thursday, April […]

In 2020, nonprofits faced unprecedented economic circumstances due to COVID-19 — and an increase in demand for their services. Amid the pandemic, it became paramount for philanthropy to prioritize advocating for racial and social justice.  In response, the Callahan Foundation’s Fall 2020 grantmaking represented additional funding for an increased number of Northeast Ohio nonprofits beyond previous cycles, with many first-time grant recipients. Grants were deployed with consideration of expanding nonprofits’ capacity to address the pandemic’s social, educational, health and economic impacts and target those disproportionately affected by the outbreak. The Foundation remained committed to directing resources to advance inclusive, engaged and equitable communities, awarding grants to BIPOC-led and BIPOC-focused nonprofits, as well as the LGBTQ community. This fall, the Callahan Foundation awarded $302,500 to 30 nonprofits in its Fall 2020 grant cycle: Beck Center for the Arts: Serving more than 60,000 people annually, the Beck Center is a leader in comprehensive arts education in Northeast Ohio. The Center was awarded $20,000 in continued support of their capital campaign, Creating Our Future. The campaign is designed to ensure the future of the Center, provide updates to the campus, and aid in sustainability and programming for the future. During the pandemic, the Center worked to keep the arts a part of people’s lives with online programming, using the downtime in campus activity to begin Center renovations. Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Cleveland: Big Brothers Big Sisters helps children reach their potential through professionally supported, one-to-one mentoring relationships. The organization was awarded $5,000 for their Community-based mentoring program, which pairs mentors who provide guidance and support with youths facing adversity in and outside of the classroom. The funding will support BBBS to create new matches for up to 80 additional “Littles,” provide critical administration and infrastructure support, and expand BBBS’ ability to […]

The Callahan Foundation is pleased to announce it has awarded $216,000 to 26 Northeast Ohio nonprofits and initiatives in its Spring 2020 grant cycle. These organizations embody the Callahan Foundation’s mission, demonstrating superior leadership and creating value for those in need through programs in higher education, the arts and social services. Birthing Beautiful Communities: Birthing Beautiful Communities is an innovative organization that supports pregnant women at highest risk for infant mortality. A first-time grant recipient, the organization was founded and is operated mainly by Black women to address and improve systemic structures that lead to Cleveland infants dying at high rates (especially Black newborns, which face an 18.1% infant mortality rate). The organization was awarded $3,500 for its prenatal education and childbirth programs, which use culture, education, advocacy, support and engagement (CEASE) to holistically support more than 400 clients to deliver full-term, healthy babies and achieve equitable birth outcomes. Boys and Girls Club of Cleveland: The Boys and Girls Clubs of Northeast Ohio’s (BGCNEO) mission is to inspire and enable youth who are most in need to reach their full potential as productive, responsible and caring citizens. BGCNEO serves more than 9,000 youth across four counties in 39 locations. In 2020, BGCNEO was awarded $3,500 in continued support for their dance instruction and exposure programming, which gives low-income youth similar chances to learn and explore interests as their higher-income peers, along with allowing them to develop social-emotional skills. Cleveland Clinic: The Cleveland Clinic was awarded $20,000 to help fund initiatives that support the health, well-being, and safety of caregivers on the frontlines of COVID-19 in Northeast Ohio, as well as their families. These frontline caregivers (such as doctors, nurses, and other medical providers) are challenged in unprecedented ways; the Cleveland Clinic’s support initiatives will help to relieve stress, to care […]